Paint stirrer and blender



Dec. 25, 1951 A, s, SHAW 2,579,874

PAINT STIRRER AND BLENDER Filed Aug. 50, 1949 Patented Dec. 25 1951UNITED PATLEN OFF ICE STMRRER AND BLENDER AlnneS. Shaw.,Philailelphia,fla. Applicaticnmwto, 1949..;Serialrlo. 113,061

(CMMS-1mi) This invention relates to devices for .stirring .and blendingviscous material, .such as paints,

`ing the various color pigments of ,paintsandpaint products, and whichdevice by reason ofthe construction, combination u.and .arrangement oflits essentialcomponents, lends itself .to Lready afpllication to thepaint canor container either ,as .a .more or less permanent part of.thelid theredfso that the mixing and `blending may The accomplishedwhile the can or container remainsubstantially hermetically sealed, .or.as ...a separate attachment Vfor removable .application ,to .an opencan er container to `be `supported in .operative position yfrom the rim.o r upper .end of ,the container.

The device of this invention when installed when the container 'isfilled .and sealed, will in nowise interfere .with the,airtghtnessof'the container or with the stacking thereof for storageand shipping, andalso permits the container to remain hermeticallysealeduntil it is desired yto use the contents thereof.

. The invention, together with the above and other objects thereof, will'be best "understood When the `following detailed description iisireadwith reference to the accompanying drawngsin which are illustrated whatare `presently considered preferred .embodiments of ithe invention, andwherein:

Figure `l is a top .plan'viewoffaipaintcanfhaving one form ofmyinvention applied thereto;

Figure 2 is a vertical Vsectional view through'ithe hermetically sealedcan and lfurther illustrating the application of 'the 'invention thereto-witli the parts shown imposition occupied `fior "storage and/orshipping purposes;

Figure 3 is affragmentary vertical sectionalelevational view takensubstantially on Aatheline '3 3 of 'Figure "1;

,Figure 4 is a fragmentary A'detail `sectionalelevational-'viewillustrating therapplication oiithe 'invention' toiacanAegu'ippediwit-h'-thereoiwentional lid and showing `theVcrank'iz'tndihan'dle applied -`to the A shaft of the 4paddle forming'part of the `invention and Figure 5 `is 'a rview 'somewhatrsirllaritoTl'suro 4 :butshowing vthejinvention as ,applied to a fric- Jtion toptypeof can and with .the Aopening in the :top .tor .accommodating the.handle shown in sealed condition.

In .general the improved s tirrer and blender .comprises a bearingmember `adapted to `be attached, in a manner 1hereinafter more Vfullyexplained, to `a suitable support, Such as for ex- .ample ,the lid or`top of a can or a plateadapted to rest on andbesuppertedfrom .the rimor upper -end ,of theeontainer, a shaft having its upper end 4journaled.in ,the bearing .bracket and `a paddle mounted on the `shaft to rotatetherewith and characterized by oppositely .disposed longitudinally.twisted vertical blades and a horizontal A.blade .bridging the.vertical `blades .and secured to the latter at `the llower endsthereof. Suitable A,handle means .isalso provided .for the'shaft of Vthestirrer l.or blender for rotating the vlatter to Yeiecta mixing orblending ofthe contentsof the `can Ain which .thestirrer or .blender isplaced.

Referringnow in detail to Figures lto 3, inclusive, of the drawings, it.will ,be seen that there Aistherein.illustrated the usual `form ofcontainer .orcanforpaint varnish and similar coating `surfaces. Thecan,therein designated `by the referencenumeral ,ID is .ein this instanceshown as provided with gaclosure orlid Il having an upstanding,peripheralrirn from which extends a ilange A2. ,fIjhe lid I ,I.telesccpicallyiits within the upper end ...of .the ,can l0 with Vtheflange l2 seating fagainstftheilange 13er the-can, the lid andwcan :thusco-acting to `form ia .substantially airtight seal for the can. Inapplying the invention to this ftype ,of :can and ,lid therefore, .theAbearing bracket M 4,of ,thestirrerforblender is welded or`1o,ther/wiserSecurecitof-the underside o f ithelid Il. The bracket t4,Aas showrl, ,is substantially U.- fsha-ped .withthelegs:thereofmereinginto lateral flanges .for `extensions `that ;t;1lat1yagainst the underside .of the slid .lil and Secured ,thereto 1irl .the,manner .indicated Also .in @accordance "with this Ainvention the lid :H@of @themen .ris constructed :with a :departure from theconventicnahhyzhaving in the center vthereof `:an #opening .175 through.which access is lmdftoiithe shaft I6 of'z'therstirrer.orzblender. Alsoin Lline-iwith theopening 1 l-5 `.the lid Il ,is provided vat itheunderside thereof `witha Awell I 1, the pe- .an-opening 1 that lis iinqalignment -vwith ,the .opening I5 in the lid II and with an opening proand surrounded parts, so that this seal, while normally rigid willrelease the shaft,,|6 .when sufficient torsional force isapplied-thereto. i Alsofor purposes of transportation and storage,"the yopening I5 in the lid II is normally sealedwby .am y. disc I9 of solderor other suitable soft materiah which may be readily ruptured to permitaccess to the upper end of the shaft I6 when lt is desired 'tomanipulate the stirrer and blender.

Mounted on the shaft I6 for rotation therewith is a paddleoomprising across member 26 that intermediate its ends is securedl tothe shaftl I6,

and at its opposite ends is provided with depending or vertical blades2|2I. The blades 2| at their lower ends are bridged by a horizontalblade 22. Preferably cross member 2i) and blades 2| are formed from asingle length of metal bent into a substantial U and the parts thereofforming the blades 2| longitudinally twisted as shown. The blade 22 isformed from a single length of .metal and at its opposite ends isriveted or other- Wise securedv to the lower ends of the blades 2| as at23. Also to provide a rigid structure, the

lower end of shaft I6 is flattened and intermediate its endsl theblade22 is riveted or otherwise secured as at 24'to the flattened end ofshaft I6.

The lower longitudinal portion of blade 22 is slit transverselyintermediate its ends and they edge portions of the blade at oppositesides of` the slit are angularly projected relative to the blade and inopposite directions with respect to one another as clearly shown inFigure v3.

A paddle having a blade assembly as just del- Y scribed and whichcharacterizes this invention:

has been found to provide most efficient stirring action, the angularedges of blade 22 serving to lift the heavier material from the bottomof the can and the longitudinally twisted blades 2| cutting through theheavy or viscous solution all in a manner to effect a thorough mixingand blending with minimum physical effort on the part of the user andwithin a comparatively short period of time.

The upper end of the shaft I6 is squared or otherwise equipped as at 25to accommodate an actuator for the stirrer. In the present instance theactuator consists of a lever or crank 26 provided at one end with asocket 2'I complementing the end '25 of shaft I6 to receive said end ofthe shaft for effecting a positive engagement lof the crank or lever 26with the shaft. At the opposite end thereof the lever or crank 26 isprovided with a threaded opening to receive Ithe threaded end of ahandle 28 as shown in Figure 4.

For storage and transportation purposes, the crank or lever 26 andhandle 28 maybe secured to the peripheral wall of the can I0 in any.suite able manner, as for example by the use of solder 29, 36, as shownin Figurel. .I if

In Figure 5 the invention, as just d Vvscribehis shown as applied to acan lid or top 3| of the well-known friction type. A comparison ofyFig*- ures 2 ancl5 will readily showfthattheinvention is applied to thefriction top lid 3| of Figure 5 in substantially the identical manner inwhich it is applied to the conventional top I I of Figure 2.

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that when it is desired to stirthe contents of the can I0, the frangible disc I9 is readily broken,whereupon the socket 2'I of crank 26 is passed through the opening I5and engaged with the end 25 of shaft I6. Handle 28 is then readilysecured in position ron .the lever '26 'and' when sufficient strengthisapplied to rotate shaft I6, the seal I8 will release the shaft I6 topermit rotation of the '.,stirrer to agitato the contents of the can fory mixing and/or blending purposes.

Fromthforegoing, it will also be apparent .that in each form of theinvention the stirrer may be movedA up and down while being rotated,

"thus allowing lthe device to be used and operated in conjunction withcans of different depth; and also that, if desired, a selected end oflever 26 may be tapered or sharpened 4for insertion be tween the upperedge of the can and the flange I2'of top I I or ange 35 of top 3 I ,asthe case may be, so that the crank '26 may be used for removing tail inits presently` preferred embodiments, it

will, of course, be understood that such has been Vdone for purposes ofillustration only and not by 'Way of limitation, Vand therefore onlysuch limita tions are to befimposed thereon as may reasonably comewithinV the scope of the appended claims.

. What I claim is:

. 1. A paint stirrer and blender comprising means to support it inoperative position on a container and embodying a bearing member and awell disposed above the bearing member and having a wall provided withan opening therein, a roltatable paddle including an actuating shafthav- ,ing an upper end portion journaled in the bearing member andprojecting into the `well through theopening in thewall vof the latter,manually operated means for actuating the shaft and means, comprising asolder joint, forming a normallyrigid hermetic seal between the shaftand thesurrunding wall of the well, adapted to release the shaft uponthe application of torsional l,force thereto.

2. .The combination with a container, a re 'movable metallic closuretherefor having an opening in the center thereof and a well below theopening provided with a bottom wall having an .opening in .alignmentwith the first-mentioned opening, a rotatable stirrer having anactuating shaft projecting into the well, a solder joint forminga'lnormally. rigid hermeticseal between the shaft and the surroundingwall of the well adapted torelease theshaft-upon application oftorsional force thereto, andafrangible disc normally closing the openingin the closure and adapted to be ruptured tofpermit anY operating handleto be passed through said opening for engagement with the actuatingshaft :for applying torsional force thereto to release androtate thestirrer.

. SVA paint V,stirrer and blender comprising in combination withacontainer, a removable closorgie? teegegief .PFW-1aed in the Centerthere 5 of with a Well, a substantially U-shaped bracket secured to theunderside of the closure and having the bight portion thereof in axialspaced alignment with the bottom of the weil, the bottom portion of theWell and the bight portion of the 5 bearing having aligning openings, astirring element having an actuating shaft extending through saidopenings and terminating at its upper end within the Well, and a solderjoint forming a normally rigid hermetic seal between the actuating shaftand the surrounding wall of the well adapted to release the actuatingshaft upon application of torsional force thereto.

ANNE S. SHAW.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le ofthis patent:

Number Number 6 UNITED STATES PATENTS Name Date Schafer Juiy 23, 1907Pledger Dec. 27, 1910 Tomlinson May 5, 1914 Landsberg June 22, 1915Richman Mar. 15, 1927 Keselback Apr. 2, 1929 Schlageter et a1. Feb. 11,1930 Shaw Sept. 12, 1933 FOREIGN PATENTS Country Date Australia June 22,1938

